


May I Waste Your Time Too?

by IStoleLudwigsBaumkuchen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fluff, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28415301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IStoleLudwigsBaumkuchen/pseuds/IStoleLudwigsBaumkuchen
Summary: Prussia stops by to drop off a package and ends up dropping off a whole lot more.(And yes, again with the Green Day titles, this one is a lyric from Sassafras Roots)
Relationships: England/Prussia (Hetalia)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	May I Waste Your Time Too?

“Love, your singing is rather pleasant but this screaming, however, isn’t polite in the slightest, especially just as soon as a guest arrives. Please, you’re going to upset Gilbert’s friend. It’s just a door knocker, poppet. There’s no reason for all of this commotion over a _door knocker_ , I swear.”

Arthur did his best to calm the small bird down as best as he could before opening his front door.

“Hello there, Gilbert.” He greeted with a small wave.

“Hello, Arthur! Wie geht’s?” 

“I’m doing fine, I suppose. Although this tiny fellow seems to want nothing but to disturb what little peace I have at the moment.” He said with a small smile, giving his own bird a gentle pat on the head.

“That’s the life of having these little guys.” He felt his own bird give a small nudge into his cheek. “Yeah, yeah. Anyways,” He held up a bundle of handmade books tied together with thick twine. “I’ve got your order.”

“Ah, fantastic!” Arthur moved out of the way, ushering Gilbert inside. “Come on in, I’ll put the kettle on.”

“Are you sure? All I came here to do was drop these off, and I don’t want to be a bother.” 

“Gilbert, there are quite a few people out there that I cannot stand to be in the presence of, but you are certainly not one of them. Now hurry on in before you catch a cold!” He replied as he made his way into his small kitchenette.

Gilbert shut the door behind himself and walked over to Arthur’s couch, taking a seat right and placing the bundle of books on the coffee table in front of him. He looked around and took in the sight that was very quickly becoming familiar to him. The couch that definitely seemed to be at least a century old. The coffee table littered with novels, the previous morning’s newspaper, and a bird perch that seemingly belonged to the small robin currently sitting on Arthur’s shoulder.

And then there was Arthur. The short little man who always seemed to speak as though it was still the 1900s and never seemed to dress in anything but a sweater vest. The man who had no idea how to cook anything but tea biscuits. The man who was an old man in every way aside from appearance. The man who seemingly captured Gilbert’s heart, even if he wouldn’t admit it. It was possibly out of fear, but you’d never hear Gilbert say it. To him, there was something odd about love. It was something to be feared. Something that needed to be handled with immense care if you wanted to be alive the next day. Love was something that got you killed. And so, he ignored it. Sure, it was there, festering in his heart, begging to be recognised without the hatred Gilbert always expressed towards it, but he never would give it the light of day. 

“Gilbert, you there, mate?” Arthur asked, waving his hand in front of Gilbert’s face.

“Huh? O-Oh, um, yeah, just got distracted for a bit, sorry.” He replied, scratching the back of his head.

“No need to be sorry, just had me a bit concerned. Anyway, tea’s ready.” He gestured to the warm teapot, milk, biscuits, and teacups with gold details on the now neatened coffee table. “Oh, and here you go.” He held out a few crisp bills. “Thirty pounds, and five more for exchange fees.”

“Thanks, though you do know you don’t have to cover for the fees, right?” Gilbert said, grabbing the money and slipping it into his wallet before putting it back into his wallet.

“No, no, it’s my country that decided not to use euros, so I’ll be the one to cover them. It’s no problem, really.” He countered as he began preparing two cups of tea, milk first, as always.

“You really do care about the niceties, don’t you?” He jokingly questioned.

“I simply have manners, unlike some people.” Arthur handed Gilbert a teacup and took a sip from his own.

"I have manners!"

"I never said my statement was directed towards you." 

"Seems like it was" Gilbert huffed.

"Well it seems like you're just making unjustified assumptions then, and I'd say that's not very polite."

"So you were saying I don't have manners!"

"I wasn't then, but I suppose that I am now." He said with a smirk.  
.  
"I come over to drop off books that **I** made for _you_ , I stay over because _you_ invite **me** in, and then _you_ insult **me**? I believe it's you that doesn't have manners."

Arthur almost spit out a mouthful of tea.

"Gilbert, I speak with the queen on a regular occasion and you accuse me of not having manners?"

"Oh, I’m sorry. Does Arthur not like being told the truth? I hate to say it, but nobody old enough to remember your past has forgotten it. We all know exactly how you used to behave in the pre-Victorian days, Artie.”

“I say! And do not call me “Artie” either!” He exclaimed with a gasp.

"Okay, Art." Gilbert said with a shrug.

"Ugh, I swear you live to do nothing but annoy people sometimes." He finally picked up the tied together stack of books and began to undo the twine holding them together. 

"Weren't you the one who said I was one of the people that *didn't* annoy you earlier?"

"Perhaps, but I think I ought to retract my statement" He picked up one of the small books, inspecting it's binding. 

"Why do you insult everyone constantly?" He sighed and asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but I don't think I'll be stopping any time soon. Now, on another note, this set looks fantastic." Arthur said with a slight chuckle, quickly changing the subject. 

Gilbert smirked, obviously proud of his work.

"Of course they are, I've only been making them for almost a millennium!"

Arthur gave a short laugh and opened the book in his hand, running a finger across the stitching holding the open signature open. 

He took a second to himself, pondering about how such a loud and boisterous man like Gilbert could stand to do such tedious work and create something so beautiful. Sure, it was just a book, and an empty one at that, but it was also so much more. It was almost a physical representation of those small moments that rarely happened between the two of them. Those precious times where Gilbert was calm and sweet. The times where Arthur didn't feel like he was pressured to seem prim and proper. Those small moments where the two of them could talk about anything and it would still be worthwhile. 

Come to think of it, it reminded him of a fellow from a long while ago who Arthur was rather close with. The two of them didn't have a name for their relationship, mainly because Arthur didn't want to accept that he had fallen for a human, but any outsider would see them as a pair of lovers. The two of them separated almost as quickly as they had come together, as he knew that the longer they were together, the more the man would lose his head. But their partnership still had a long lasting impact on the nation, despite how little of a role it had played in the span of Arthur's life. 

That was the last time he had even considered a relationship, though. Arthur was lonely, no doubt about it, but he did his best to ignore it. He was centuries old, and he'd grown used to the quiet and stillness of his small home. Unlike Gilbert, however, he was often completely alone. He and Ludwig lived together with three dogs, and Feliciano often came around every other night. On the other hand, Arthur was lucky to have a visitor every other week, and when he did, it wasn't to see one another to relax and hang out, it was almost always for work. He seemed to take it better though. Arthur had been irritable and constantly grumpy for longer than anyone could remember. Sure, it had been a very long time since he'd had his colonies all around him at all times, but even then, he always had plenty of time all by himself. 

However, being around Gilbert always made him feel less lonely. Sure, by definition, being around another person would mean that he wasn't alone, but this was different. Being around anyone else made me feel even lonelier than if he was by himself. He felt like he was supposed to be around them, and so he reverted to fanciful language and obscenely neat manners to seem as though he simply had class. 

But with Gilbert, he felt like he didn't have to force laughs and smiles. He simply behaved as he did when he was alone, not when he felt alone. Gilbert was the soft darkness that wrapped around him when all that lit a room was a single flickering candle, not the blinding light that only began to exist when a crowd was loud and begged for him to fake a small chuckle and a wave. 

He looked down at the book in front of him, taking another short moment to admire Gilbert's craftsmanship, closing the book and gently feeling the spine, turning it to see the woven thread on the top.

"So, I take it that they suit your taste?" He asked.

"Of course, I don't pay you what I do for a bad product. You've got more experience than any human I know, and it shows in your work." Arthur noted.

Gilbert puffed out his chest a bit, his pride clearly showing by the grin on his face.

"Now, now, don't let a small compliment go straight to your ego, it's not a good look." He said with a slight chuckle. 

"I am not! I just, glad you like it, yeah..." 

"Are you sure about that? Because I don't think you are." Arthur questioned.

"Hmph, hush." He crossed his arms and looked over to his bird. "You don't think I'm being egotistical, do you? No you don't, you think I'm just really cool, don't you? Yes you do, because you're not all mean and dumb like Arthur, no you're not." 

"Cheep, cheep!"

"Gilbert, you are not a child, and I'd prefer if you stopped insulting me to your bird as if I'm not sitting right next to you."

"Oh, look at this, Gilbird. Arthur thinks I'm being childish, hm? Well that's just silly, isn't it? Silly, silly Arthur." He mused. 

"Cheep, cheep!"

"Gilbert, stop that this instant! I am not silly! You're the one talking to a bird!" He glared, his arms crossed.

"Awww, look at him, Gilbird! He's just an angry old man, isn't he? All grumpy and annoyed!" He cooed.

"Cheep, cheep!"

"Gilbert, I'm becoming rather cross with this little act, and you ought to stop sooner rather than later!"

"Did you hear that? He's getting cross with us, isn't that scary? What's going to happen if he gets really mad, hm?"

Gilbird fluffed his feathers, the small movements appearing to be a shrug of sorts.

Arthur's own bird decided to fly over from it's kitchen perch, landing on his shoulder and nudging his cheek.

"I'm sorry, poppet, it just seems as though Gilbert wants to be a nuisance at the moment." He couldn't hide the fact that he thought the whole situation was at least a little humorous, and thus a small smile was beginning to creep onto his face.

"Well look at this, Gilbird. Not only has Arthur brought his own friend, but it seems like he's having a good time taunting us as well!" He grinned.

"Cheep, cheep!"

"Love, Gilbert and his bird are accusing us of taunting them! Why, that's absolutely absurd! They're the ones that started this whole ordeal!" He softly laughed, the smile on his face becoming more and more evident. 

"He's laughing, Gilbird, the humorless old man is laughing! How could that be? Could he think that we're funny? After all these years, all the failed attempts at making him laugh, and we've finally done it?"

Arthur tried to hide the grin forming on his face, his laughing quickly growing louder.

"We've really done it! He's losing it!" 

He looked at Gilbert and smiled, a real smile, not one of the ones that he'd flash at someone to make them think he cared. He felt lighter, somehow. Just being around Gilbert made him feel more at home, but this was different. It wasn't an unwelcome feeling though, quite the opposite, actually. He had to admit that he loved being around him, the small chit chat between the two of them feeling more like real conversation, and the feelings expressed being more true than when he talked to anyone else. The thing he couldn't admit, however, was his feelings for him. It hurt, but he wouldn't say it. He didn't want to think about that though.

Arthur wasn't alone in these feelings, though. Gilbert was representing his thoughts even more. Granted, neither could be certain about the other's hidden appreciation for one another. But for just a second, one of their hearts took over, pushing them to do something neither of them would be able to do otherwise. 

"Arthur, look this way"

"Wh-"

And there it was.

Gilbert **kissed** him.

Sure, it was just a peck to the cheek, but it was enough to silence Arthur instantly. His silence wasn't readable, however, and left Gilbert wondering if it was a good or bad kind of quiet, and panic began to set in.

"I-I… I’m sorry, I-I should have asked first, just forge-” He was cut off by something touching his cheek.

He blinked.

Then took a second to think.

Wait.

_Wait._

**Wait.**

Arthur _kissed_ him back.

Again, it was nothing but a peck on the cheek, but it was enough to confirm that Arthur felt the same way.

“Hey, mate, I-, you?” Arthur sputtered out.

Gilbert gulped.

“Y-Yeah.”

Both of them had no clue what to do, but Arthur tried his best to compose himself and grabbed Gilbert’s hand, gently running his thumb across his knuckles.

“I-It’s okay, d-don’t be scared, it’s just us.”

“I-I know, it’s just, I didn’t think you liked me like that.” Gilbert said, all anxiety showing.

“Neither did I, and yet, here we are” He reassured, opening his arms for a hug. Even if his arms were shaking a bit, he hoped it was enough to show Gilbert that he was safe.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Positive, dear.”

Gilbert was hesitant at first, but leaned in. Arthur gave him a chance to get comfortable before wrapping his arms around him. He was nervous enough himself, but the Brit took a breath and pulled him close, exhaling as he felt Gilbert ease up in his arms.

There was complete silence aside from soft breathing for a few minutes, until one of them had the courage to ask something.

“W-What are we now?” Gilbert shakily asked.

“Whatever you want to be, Gil. But I don’t think we need to think about that just yet. You just need to breathe for a bit.” He calmly said.

It was only then that Gilbert allowed himself to rest, and fell asleep in Arthur’s arms while he gently ran his fingers through his hair. Arthur would soon find himself in a similar position, as the two fell into a blissful sleep, both of them finally able to relax with such a large weight lifted from their shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation notes
> 
> Wie geht's - How is your day going? (Short form of "Wie geht's dir")


End file.
